The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza presents a retrospective exhibition on the work of the French artist Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (1908‒2001), known as Balthus. It is organised in conjunction with Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel, where it is on show until January 2019, with the generous support of the painter’s family.

Hailed as one of the great masters of twentieth-century art, Balthus is undoubtedly also one of the most unusual painters of his time. His diverse, ambiguous paintings, as admired as much as they are rejected, developed in virtually the opposite direction to the avant-garde movements. The artist himself explicitly stated that some of his influences in art historical tradition were Piero della Francesca, Caravaggio, Poussin, Géricault and Courbet. A closer analysis also reveals references to more modern movements such as New Objectivity and the devices used in the illustration of popular nineteenth-century children’s books such as Alice in Wonderland. His indifference – which could be described as ‘post-modern’ – of modern trends, Balthus developed a unique, personal figurative style that defies classification. His particular pictorial language characterised by bold forms and very marked contours combines the procedures of the Old Masters with certain aspects of Surrealism, and his images embody many contradictions, mixing calm with extreme tension, the dream world and mystery with reality, and eroticism with innocence. In his urban scenes and interiors but also in his landscapes and still lifes, the picture space becomes a stage set in which the viewer is invited to take part, while time appears to grind to a standstill. (off. press)

Today, Tate Modern unveils a major exhibition of the work of pioneering artist Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012). Organised in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, it is the first large-scale exhibition of her work for 25 years and the first ever to span Tanning’s remarkable seven-decade career. Bringing together some 100 works from across the globe, over a third of which are shown in the UK for the first time, the exhibition explores how she expanded the language of surrealism. From her early enigmatic paintings, to her ballet designs, uncanny stuffed textile sculptures, installations and large-scale late works, it offers a rare opportunity to experience the artist’s unique internal world.

The exhibition follows the story of Tanning’s life and work, from her influential first encounters with surrealism in New York in the 1930s, through to her later years as a painter, poet and writer. Prominent early works have been brought together, such as the artist’s powerful self-portrait Birthday 1942 (Philadelphia Museum of Art) which attracted the attention of Max Ernst whom she married in 1946. These join key examples of Tanning’s mid-career prismatic paintings, as well as her later soft sculptures to show the full breath of her practice.

Born in 1910 in Galesburg, Illinois, Tanning wanted to depict ‘unknown but knowable states’: to suggest there was more to life than meets the eye. Early in her career she explored domesticity as a central theme; combining the familiar with the strange to turn the home into a surrealist space. Significant works from this period such as Children’s Games 1942 (private collection) and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1943 (Tate), exemplify Tanning’s interest in suppressed desires and burgeoning sexuality. Poetic imagery of young girls, domestic interiors and open doors are frequent motifs in these paintings derived from the artist’s love of Gothic and Romantic literature. This interest is also reflected in her fictional writings and poems, spanning from the 1940s to her last collection of poems Coming to That, published at the age of 100. (off. press)

will be the first exhibition to take a new look at the artist through his relationship with Britain. It will explore how Van Gogh was inspired by British art, literature and culture throughout his career and how he in turn inspired British artists, from Walter Sickert to Francis Bacon.

Bringing together the largest group of Van Gogh paintings shown in the UK for nearly a decade, The EY Exhibition: Van Gogh and Britain will include over 45 works by the artist from public and private collections around the world. They include Self-Portrait 1889 from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, L'Arlésienne 1890 from Museu de Arte de São Paolo, Starry Night on the Rhône 1888 from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Shoes from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and the rarely loaned Sunflowers 1888 from the National Gallery, London. The exhibition will also feature late works including two painted by Van Gogh in the Saint-Paul asylum, At Eternity’s Gate 1890 from the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo and Prisoners Exercising 1890 from the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.

Van Gogh spent several crucial years in London between 1873 and 1876, writing to his brother Theo, ‘I love London’. Arriving as a young trainee art dealer, the vast modern city prompted him to explore new avenues of life, art and love. The exhibition will reveal Van Gogh’s enthusiasm for British culture during his stay and his subsequent artistic career. It will show how he responded to the art he saw, including works by John Constable and John Everett Millais as well as his love of British writers from William Shakespeare to Christina Rossetti. Charles Dickens in particular influenced Van Gogh’s style and subject matter throughout his career. L'Arlésienne 1890, a portrait he created in the last year of his life in the south of France, features a favourite book by Dickens in the foreground.

The exhibition will also explore Van Gogh’s passion for British graphic artists and prints. Despite his poverty, he searched out and collected around 2,000 engravings, most from English magazines such as the Illustrated London News. ‘My whole life is aimed at making the things from everyday life that Dickens describes and these artists draw’ he wrote in his first years as a struggling artist. He returned to these prints in his final months, painting his only image of London, Prisoners Exercising, from Gustave Doré’s print of Newgate Prison. (off. press)